Rating: 
Summary: Breathtaking Performance
Review: First I would like to say this cast is excellent! No kidding. I was channel surfing one night and had run across the Hornblower series. 5 min. into watching I was hooked, for the rest of the weekend. Ioan Grufford should seriously start doing more movies He is a great actor. I am excited to see another one I hope soon.
Rating: 
Summary: A depraved revision of Forrester
Review: These films debase Forrester's character to an extent hardly imaginable. From a retiring, repressed victorian these films have created a extroverted adolescent who is purely 20th century. The stringent historical accuraccy with which Forrester crafted his novels is gone, plots have been altered to enhance the adolescent "romantic interest" and no relationship to the napoleonic british navy remains. An Abomination!
Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding. Series you could watch over and over again!
Review: I don't know how many times I have watched these videos. They just keep getting better with each viewing! Ioan Gruffudd was perfect for the role of Hornblower. I can't wait for the new videos that they will be making in 2000. Thanks A&E for putting out quality entertainment!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent-prompted me to read the books
Review: The screenplay was quite different from the books, but nevertheless was very entertaining. I had never read the books, but am now in the process of reading them all as a result of the miniseries. I recommend it to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: One-line Summary? Give me a break...
Review: There aren't enough words to describe this awsome film. The acting is superb, the plot (based most accuratly on C.S. Forestor's wonderful novels) exellent, and the directing, music, and props most wonderful! I could go on and on; the fast-paced humour is great, and the historical accuracy is just fabulour. Now I need to go buy a thesoraus, and look up the words "exellent" "great" and "wonderful". I'm running out of synonyms!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Everyone involved in the production of this series deserves praise. I have been a keen fan of Hornblower for 27 years (since I was 7)and while the film can never match the books, given the constraints imposed by cost etc, it is a first class attempt to capture the spirit of Hornblower. What a refreshing change to see honour, manliness and stoicism after all the crap that Hollywood dishes up. OK, if you want to split hairs some flaws are there but this series will encourage many to read the books for the first time. The action is terrific and the sailing ships very well created. Great stuff!
Rating:
Summary: Ha ha, it's 34.95 at Sam's Club!
Review: Wonderful series, where men are men, the stars anyway, and that's the most important.
Rating:
Summary: Read the book instead
Review: I've yet to see a movie or video superior to the writing it was based upon. While the production values were very, very good, the screenwriters played fast and loose with "Mr. Midshipman Hornblower" - deviating severely from the original plot. They should have their grog stopped.
Rating:
Summary: When ships were made of wood and men made of iron!
Review: This is one of the finest historical adventure dramas I have ever seen on television. As a historian, I tend to review historical films with a magnifying glass. These four films certainly passed my tests, but also peaked my interests enough to read all eleven Honblower novels. I have just finished the fifth of the novels. This film is not only historically accurate, but it is thoroughly exciting and entertaining to watch. I think it also teaches lessons about a time when honor, duty, and loyalty were a lot more than just words, they were a way of life. I liked all of the performances in the film, and all of the parts were written very well. I also wanted to take an opportunity to clarify one criticism made by another reviewer I saw on this web site. One viewer stated that the part where Captain Pellew went in and rowed one of the boats himself when trying to move the ship, was silly and not realistic. I beg to differ. First, Pellew was a real naval officer from that era that C.S. Forrester merely decided to add into his novels (which he did with several other historical figures). The real Pellew once jumped into the ocean in full dress uniform to save a man who had fallen into the water and could not swim. Pellew was the type of leader who would not ask a man to do something he himself would not do. Second, the greatest military leaders in history have often been hands on leaders, right up at the front in the mud with his soldiers. Why should Pellew be any different? To conclude, I would like to recommend The Hornblower miniseries (which has been nominated for four emmy awards this year, i.e. 1999) to Hornblower enthusiasts or to anyone who has never even heard of the Hornblower character. After you see these films, you may find yourself more intersted in the age of fighting sail. From Ian in Orlando, Florida, USA.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful movie for everyone!
Review: I loved the movie, they have taken a story originally intended for boys and turned it into an awesome movie for everyone!
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